Acton Public School Committee Meeting September 15, 2011 7 ... · Math Curriculum Specialist/Coach...

Acton Public School Committee Meeting

September 15, 20117:30 p.m.

at the

C.T. Douglas School Cafetorium

ACTON PUBLIC SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING

Cafetorium September 15, 2011 Douglas School 7:30 p.m. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AGENDA 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. CHAIRMAN’S INTRO

First Day of School Report – Steve Mills 2.1 Welcome Back Letter to All Staff from the Superintendent* 2.2 Staff Opening Day presentation slides 8/29/11*

3. STATEMENT OF WARRANT 4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES* (addendum) 5. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION 6. EDUCATION REPORTS

6.1 Christopher Whitbeck, Principal, Douglas School 6.2 English Learner Education (ELE) Report, Suzanne Szwarcewicz, Liza Huber, Theresa Laquerre,

Pat Garrison* 7. SCHOOL COMMITTEE BUSINESS

7.1 Budget – Don Aicardi 7.1.1 Closing out FY11 APS budget* (addendum) 7.1.2 Planning for FY13 budget

7.2 ALG Update, 9/8/11 meeting – Xuan Kong* 7.3 Subcommittee Updates

7.3.1 Long Range Strategic Planning – Steve Mills* 7.4 Initial MCAS Results – Deb Bookis 7.5 Food Service News –Marie Altieri* 7.5.1 Pricing Update 7.5.2 Point of Sale System Transition 7.6 Recommendation to Appoint Stephen Mills as APS Rep to CASE, 2011-2012 – VOTE – Steve Mills

7.7 Recommendation to Appoint Xuan Kong as Acton Rep to EDCO as a voting board member 2011-2012 – VOTE – Steve Mills

7.8 Recommendation to Accept Gifts from AB Community Education to the Gates and McCarthy-Towne Schools from the surplus generated by the Extended Day programs run by Community Education and to the Conant School from the surplus generated by the Extended Day program and Enrichment programs run by Community Education at Conant– VOTE – Steve Mills

8. FOR YOUR INFORMATION

8.1 School Improvement Plans*: Conant, Douglas, Gates, McCarthy-Towne, Merriam 8.2 Enrollment Update* (addendum) 8.3 Interaction – Fall 2011: http://comed.ab.mec.edu 8.4 The Lamplighter – September 2011: http://ab.mec.edu/about/publications* 8.5 Parent Communication Map: http://ab.mec.edu/pdffiles/ParentCommunicationMap.pdf* 8.6 Acton 2020 Update* 8.7 For Your Calendar: http://ab.mec.edu/about/calendars

Information for this meeting is posted at http://ab.mec.edu/about/meetings.shtml

8.7.1 Schools Open* 8.7.2 Open House Dates* 8.7.3 School Calendar 2011-2012*

9. NEXT MEETINGS: October 6, 7:30 p.m. in the JH Library, ABRSC Meeting

October 20, 7:30 p.m. in the McCarthy-Towne Library, APS Meeting ADJOURN * see document in meeting packet

Information for this meeting is posted at http://ab.mec.edu/about/meetings.shtml

It’s It’s StillStill All About All About InstructionInstructionDr. Stephen Mills

August 29, 2011

Today’s Three ObjectivesToday’s Three Objectives

1. What we have done to promote high quality instruction this past year

2. Long-Range Strategic Plan

3. Very exciting time to be doing this work together

Objective OneObjective One

What we have done to promote high quality instruction this past year

The Fiscal ChallengeThe Fiscal Challenge

Due to fiscal crisis, the management team began to tighten the budgets in FY’10

Reduced $970,000 from FY'10 to FY'11

Changed some assumptions about non-direct service line items such as:

Health InsuranceUtilitiesCustodial overtimeSome special education out-of-district costsReduce/combine some para-professional positions

Secured a commitment from town leadership groups (FinCom, ALG, school committees) to use local resources to maintain level service budgets for this school year

What did we do with this fiscal strategy of moving non-direct service funding to

direct service funding?

It’s All About It’s All About InstructionInstruction

Began addressing Strategic Personnel Hires:

Math Curriculum Specialist/Coach (APS)

.5 Reading/.5 SPED Position (Junior High)

School Psychologist (Senior High)


Book Purchases at FY’11 Year End:

$427k for Two Years of Three Year Book Replacement Plan (APS)

$217k for Two Year Book Replacement Plan in Its Entirety (A/B)


Smart Board InitiativeAPS: Installed Smart Boards for

Grades 1, 2 and 3 ($124k at FY'11 Year End)

AB: An additional 13 Smart Boards were installed this Summer


For The Upcoming FY’12 Budget:

K-6 Mathematics Assistants (Regular Education Mathematics Support for Students)Add 18 hours per week per school

Total Cost: $54K

K-6 Classroom AssistantsCurrently funding 44 hours per week per school

Add 18 hours per week per schoolTotal Cost: $54K

So both districts are positioned to deliver to our students a better product than ever before

Objective TwoObjective Two

Long-Range Strategic Plan

Planning Steering CommitteePlanning Steering Committee

Steve Mills, Superintendent of Schools

Donald Aicardi, Deborah Bookis, and Alexandra Callen(District Leadership Representatives)

Marc Lewis and Jennifer Pratt (Teacher Representatives)

Mary Ann Ashton and John Fallon (Community Representatives)

Xuan Kong and Bruce Sabot (School Committee Representatives)

LongLong--Range Strategic PlanRange Strategic Plan

Survey Monkey – 500 responses

Leadership Institute

4-5 two-hour meetings – Steve Mills, Deb Bookis, Alixe Callen, Liza Huber, Amy Bisiewicz, Marie Altieri

MissionMission

To prepare all students to attain their full potential as life-long learners, critical thinkers,

and productive citizens of our diverse community and global society.

ValuesValues

1. An environment that promotes social development and emotional and physical well-being for the entire community

2. Excellent academic program that prepares all students to achieve their individual potential

3. Diverse extracurricular opportunities accessible to all students that provide for student growth

4. A community that welcomes and respects the differences among us

5. Literacy communication and technology skills for life-long learning

6. Educational policy and resource decisions informed by research and evidence

Proposed GoalsProposed GoalsLooking for faculty feedback this fallLooking for faculty feedback this fall

1. Promote social development and emotional and physical well-being through increased student-adult interactions that meet the diverse needs of all studentsValues Addressed: 1-6

2. Hire and retain high quality educators and provide supervision and evaluation that promotes growth and impacts student learningValues Addressed: 1, 2, 5, 6

3. Provide a systemic, focused plan for professional growth for all educators that impacts student learningValues Addressed: 1, 2, 5, 6


4. Create a teaching and learning environment that fosters opportunities for teachers and students to use technology in sophisticated ways to enhance their learningValues Addressed: 1, 2, 5, 6

5. Adequately resource the two districts with budgets that grow 2% beyond level service each of the next four fiscal years to achieve all long-range strategic goalsValue Addressed: 6

Proposed Major GoalsProposed Major Goals

People

Technology

Professional Development

These things cost $ $ $ $$ $ $ $


A time for all seasons

It is a time to grow

I will advocate during the next four fiscal cycles a level service budget plus 2% or …

“The 2 percent solution”

Now it’s your turn …

Goal is to complete this Long Range Strategic Plan by Thanksgiving to inform the FY’13

budget discussion

Objective ThreeObjective Three

Very exciting time to be doing this work together

Professional DevelopmentProfessional Development

It’s All About InstructionIt’s All About Instruction

How do we know students are learning?How do we know students are learning?


How do we know students are learning?How do we know students are learning?

Formative AssessmentFormative AssessmentBenchmarks and ToolsBenchmarks and Tools


The work of this year is to agree on learning benchmarks and tools to measure those benchmarks in all content areas and grade levels K-12.

Assessment is part of high quality instruction.

Deb Deb BookisBookis –– Director of Curriculum Director of Curriculum Assessment and Professional DevelopmentAssessment and Professional Development

Here are some of the opportunities:CoursesWorkshopsStudy GroupsBook Study GroupsDiscipline InstitutesSchool-Based ActivitiesR&DDistrict-Wide Grade Level MeetingsCollaborative Learning Teams

Examples: TRIADS at Merriam, HS Teacher Work Groups

Teacher-to-Teacher InitiativeAttendance at Conferences


How do we know students are learning?

One of the best ways is to look at student work with colleagues.

Therefore, this year we will train 32 teachers and principals on specific protocols of examining student work.

Teacher Evaluation SystemTeacher Evaluation System

Critical time in public educationDESE requiring substantial changes in the teacher evaluation systemGoal is to lead AB through this in a thoughtful, constructive, meaningful and fair wayProviding professional development for teacher growth is a priorityCommittee led by Marie Altieri

Evaluation Process and Tools Evaluation Process and Tools Task ForceTask Force

Marie Marie AltieriAltieriJana Jana BardsleyBardsleyGabrielle Gabrielle BerberianBerberianDeborah Deborah BookisBookisAlixeAlixe CallenCallenDiane Diane CelinoCelinoCindy HoltCindy Holt

Ed KaufmanEd KaufmanDavid David KraneKraneLynne LaramieLynne LaramieMarc LewisMarc LewisAnne LittlefieldAnne LittlefieldBill Bill NoethNoethJennifer Jennifer VaccaVacca

TeacherTeacher--toto--TeacherTeacher

Last year I taught 3 days

This year, rather than 3 days, I will teach 21 classes:

7 Elementary

7 Junior High

7 High School

First Come, First Served!

In ConclusionIn Conclusion

Welcome....Welcome....

Marc LewisMarc Lewis

RJGJHS Teacher RJGJHS Teacher Acton Education Association (AEA) PresidentActon Education Association (AEA) President

Have a GREAT Year!Have a GREAT Year!

English Learner English Learner Education Education

ReportReportSchool Committee MeetingSchool Committee Meeting

September 15, 2011September 15, 2011

What is ELE?What is ELE?

Required by Federal and State lawsRequired by Federal and State lawsEnglish Learner Education English Learner Education •• supports students with limited English supports students with limited English

proficiency to fully access the academic proficiency to fully access the academic curriculacurricula

•• focuses on listening, speaking, reading, focuses on listening, speaking, reading, writing, and academic and social writing, and academic and social participationparticipation

Part of Regular Education programsPart of Regular Education programs

AcronymsAcronymsCurrentCurrent

ELE ELE –– English Learner EducationEnglish Learner Education

LEP LEP –– Limited English ProficientLimited English Proficient

SEI SEI –– Sheltered English ImmersionSheltered English Immersion

ELPBO ELPBO –– English Language Proficiency Benchmarks and OutcomesEnglish Language Proficiency Benchmarks and Outcomes

FLEP FLEP –– Formerly LEPFormerly LEP

FormerFormerELL ELL –– English Language LearnersEnglish Language Learners

ESL ESL –– English as a Second LanguageEnglish as a Second Language

Pupil Services StructurePupil Services Structure

Pupil Services

ELL

PK - 6 Counseling

PK - 6 Special Ed

PK - 6Nursing

PK - 6 Special Ed

7 - 12 Nursing

7-12 ELL

7 - 12Counseling

7-12

- APS - - ABRSD -OOD

ELE ProfessionalsELE Professionals

ELE Chairperson ELE Chairperson •• Suzanne Suzanne SzwarcewiczSzwarcewicz

Elementary TeachersElementary Teachers•• Theresa Theresa LaquerreLaquerre –– ConantConant, Douglas, Gates, Douglas, Gates•• Suzanne Suzanne SzwarcewiczSzwarcewicz -- Merriam, Merriam, McTMcT

RJ Grey / ABRHS TeacherRJ Grey / ABRHS Teacher•• Pat GarrisonPat Garrison

Meeting Diverse NeedsMeeting Diverse NeedsGlobal / CulturalGlobal / CulturalSocioSocio--EconomicEconomicEducational Background of FamiliesEducational Background of FamiliesImmigrants and USImmigrants and US--bornbornMultilingual / Bilingual / MonolingualMultilingual / Bilingual / Monolingual

Interrupted Formal EducationInterrupted Formal EducationTransient PopulationTransient PopulationSpecial Education NeedsSpecial Education Needs

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011

APSAB

ELE EnrollmentsELE Enrollments

ELE Home Language DiversityELE Home Language Diversity

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Arabic

Spanish

Portuguese

Hindi / India

Other

Korean

Russian

Chinese

ELE Demographics (cont.)ELE Demographics (cont.)

Immigrant vs. USImmigrant vs. US--BornBorn•• Elementary Elementary –– 30% 30% vsvs 70%70%•• RJ Grey / ABRHSRJ Grey / ABRHS–– 99% 99% vsvs 1%1%

Grade SpanGrade Span•• Elementary Elementary –– 50+% K50+% K--22•• RJ Grey / ABRHS RJ Grey / ABRHS –– evenly spread outevenly spread out

ELE ProgrammingELE ProgrammingIdentification Identification •• Home Language Survey Home Language Survey •• ELE ScreeningELE Screening

Program Models Program Models •• Elementary Elementary –– PushPush--in / Pullin / Pull--outout•• RJ Grey RJ Grey –– ELE as replacement or addition to English ELE as replacement or addition to English •• ABRHS ABRHS ––ELE/English and ELE/US HistoryELE/English and ELE/US History

InstructionInstruction•• StandardsStandards--based based –– ELPBOELPBO•• Content Area CurriculumContent Area Curriculum•• Collaboration with Classroom TeachersCollaboration with Classroom Teachers

ELE Program AccountabilityELE Program AccountabilityState Testing State Testing –– MCASMCAS•• MEPA R/W and MELAMEPA R/W and MELA--OO

Upon entry and annually thereafterUpon entry and annually thereafter•• MCASMCAS

Content Area Test Content Area Test -- immediatelyimmediatelyELA ELA –– option to wait until after one yearoption to wait until after one year

SchoolSchool--Compatible Progress ReportsCompatible Progress Reports

Exit CriteriaExit Criteria

22--year Monitoring of FLEP Studentsyear Monitoring of FLEP Students

Monitoring of students’ progress even when parents decline Monitoring of students’ progress even when parents decline services services

The “Job” of an ELE StudentThe “Job” of an ELE Student

Language learningLanguage learning

Content learning Content learning (literacy, math, social (literacy, math, social studies, science)studies, science)

Acculturation: US culture / Acton school Acculturation: US culture / Acton school culture / peer cultureculture / peer culture

HighHigh--stakes testing and college prepstakes testing and college prep

Tip of the Iceberg:Tip of the Iceberg:Social vs. Academic LanguageSocial vs. Academic Language

SOCIAL LANGUAGE2 – 3 YEARS TO DEVELOP

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE5 - 7 YEARS TO DEVELOP

BICS

CALP

Meet Meet KatyaKatya

Meet AbdulMeet Abdul

ELE SuccessesELE SuccessesFunding for additional ELE Elementary Funding for additional ELE Elementary Teacher and PartTeacher and Part--Time ELE ChairpersonTime ELE ChairpersonProfessional Development for Classroom Professional Development for Classroom Teachers in ELE Category Trainings Teachers in ELE Category Trainings Exemplary CPR Review Exemplary CPR Review Federal Funding Federal Funding –– Title III Grant for Title III Grant for Tutoring and ELE Summer ProgrammingTutoring and ELE Summer ProgrammingELE Scholarship for CollegeELE Scholarship for CollegeParent Outreach Parent Outreach –– Increased Translation Increased Translation and Interpretation, ELE Family Nightand Interpretation, ELE Family Night

ELE ChallengesELE Challenges

EverEver--Increasing ELE Regulations Increasing ELE Regulations Unfunded “Mandates”Unfunded “Mandates”•• Professional Development for Classroom Professional Development for Classroom

Teachers: ELE Category Trainings (time and Teachers: ELE Category Trainings (time and funding)funding)

•• ELE PreELE Pre--KK--12 Curriculum Plan12 Curriculum Plan•• Cost of Interpretation and Translation Cost of Interpretation and Translation Increasing ELE Population at APSIncreasing ELE Population at APSIntegration and coordination among Integration and coordination among teachers and specialiststeachers and specialistsDropDrop--Out ConcernsOut Concerns

Meet IgorMeet Igor

Meet Meet JooJoo HeeHee

DiscussionDiscussion

School Committee MeetingSchool Committee MeetingSeptember 15, 2011September 15, 2011

Long Range Strategic Plan for the Acton Public and ActonBoxborough Regional School Districts

Mission

o prepare all students to attain their full potential as life‐long learners, critical thinkers, and productive citizens of ur diverse community and global society. To

Values

ALUE #1 An environment that promotes social development and emotional and physical well‐being for the V

entire community

VALUE #2 Excellent academic program that prepares all students to achieve their individual potential

VALUE #3 provide for student growth

Diverse extracurricular opportunities accessible to all students that

VALUE #4 .

A community that welcomes and respects the differences among us

VALUE #5

Literacy communication and technology skills for life long learning

VALUE #6 Educational policy and resource decisions informed by research and evidence

Proposed Goals

Goal #1

Promot social development and emotional and physical well being through increased student‐adult interactions that meet the divers eds of all students

e

e ne

Values Addressed: 1‐6

Goal #2 ire and retain high quality educators and provide supervision and evaluation that promotes growth and impacts tudent learning Hs Values Addressed: 1, 2, 5, 6

Goal #3

rovide a systemic, lan for professional growth for all educators that impacts student learning P

focused p

Values Addressed: 1, 2, 5, 6

Goal #4 reate a teaching and learning environment that fosters opportunities for teachers and students to use technology n sophisticated way nce their learning Ci

s to enha

Values Addressed: 1, 2, 5, 6

Goal #5 Adequately resource the two districts with budgets that grow 2% beyond level service each of the next four fiscal years to achieve all long‐range strategic goals. Value Addressed: 6

8/23/11

~Food Service News~ Kirsten Nelson, Director of Food Services

2011-2012 Lunch Prices

Acton Public Schools: $2.35 (an increase of $.10)

If you would like to purchase milk a la carte the cost remains the same: $.50

Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools: Junior High and High School tiered pricing starting at $2.10-$3.00.

Your child may be eligible for free or reduced price lunch. If you would like to fill out an application you can do so either by visiting our website www.ab.mec.edu to fill the form out on line. Or applications will be distributed on the first day of school to every student. Our applications are available in English and Spanish.

• We are pleased to announce we are in the process of implementing a Point of Sale System for all schools! Parents and faculty will now have the option to prepay for lunches on line through our "Parent on line". Effective October 7th we will “go live” with the program at all schools. Each student and faculty member will have an account set up. We will assign a 4 digit pin number for all students and faculty to enter when they reach the cashier stand. The students and faculty will need to learn these pin numbers before the 7th of October even if paying by cash they will need this number. When parents log in to enter the information for their child with the online emergency card this summer they will see a 4 digit pin number. This number is the number each child will need to know in order to get a lunch starting on October 7th. Please work with your child to help them memorize their 4 digit pin number. We will be sending additional information on the back of the October Menu and through school communication to let families know of this exciting new option in Food Services.

Questions you may have…..

• What do I do with existing Acton Public School lunch tickets? You can use your existing lunch tickets and send in the additional $.10 for lunch with your child.

• Can I still use the milk tickets from last year? Yes, we are still accepting the milk tickets.

• How many tickets should I purchase since you are changing to a point of sale system? We

recommend you purchase lunch tickets for the Month of September and through the 7th of October. We will be going “live” with the point of sale system on October 7th. If you have any tickets that have not been used you can send them in with your child. The cafeteria manager at the school will enter the dollar value of your tickets in your child’s account. Our goal is to have the on line pre-payment system available on September 30th in order for you to add money to your child’s account. If you prefer to still pay by cash or check this is still an option.

• Our charging procedures are as follows: High School: Students must have money on account or pay by cash at the register. Students are not able to go in the negative on their account. High School Students will not be able to charge lunches or a la carte items (go in the negative). Junior High School and Elementary Schools: Students will be able to go in the negative by 2 lunches. If the account is not paid the student will receive a cheese sandwich with fruit, vegetables and milk.

• Please look for our Food Service table at the open house. We will be there to help answer any questions and look forward to seeing you! It is our pleasure to serve your children.

Office of the Superintendent

Acton Public Schools Acton-Boxborough Regional School District

http://ab.mec.edu (978) 264-4700 x 3211

TO: Acton Public School Committee Members FROM: Stephen Mills ON: September 15, 2011 RE: ADDENDUM ACTON PUBLIC SCHOOL COMMITTEE MEETING:

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES* (brought to meeting)

7. SCHOOL COMMITTEE BUSINESS 7.1 Budget – Don Aicardi

7.1.1 Closing out FY11 APS budget 7.3 Subcommittee Updates

7.3.1 Long Range Strategic Planning – Steve Mills (revised) 7.3.1.2 Staff Survey

7.5 Food Service News –Kirsten Nelson 7.5.3 Food Service News II with Point of Sale System Q and A 8. FOR YOUR INFORMATION

8.1 School Improvement Plans: Douglas 8.2 Enrollment Update

Douglas School Improvement Plan Spring 2011

School Council Members: Christopher Whitbeck, Judy Rowland, Lisa Racie, Tamara Ricciardone, Scott Anderson, Amy Krishnamurthy, Karen Jarsky, Cathy Cherkerzian, Martha Bethel, Stephanie Ingraham

The Douglas School Council generally meets every six weeks. This past year, we met on the following dates:

November 4th January 18th March 8th May 31st

Part One: Progress with Goals for 2009-2010 The following list includes this past year' s Rationale, Responsible Parties, Strategies, Measurable Outcomes, Target Completion Dates, Assessment of Progress, Assessment Instruments, Anticipated Costs, and Source of Revenues for our two stated goals.

I. Focus on Anti Bullying: The Douglas staff and School Council worked to Review and revise programs and procedures to address incidents of bullying within the school community. Based on identified student needs, each school improvement goal is subdivided into more specific goals. Teachers begin to address this goal through a focus on the identification of needs, effective solutions, and then implementation of programs. Our goal was tied to the system-wide goal of supporting students within a positive school culture and climate. Goal 1: Gather Data Goal Statement #1: Assessment of school climate, particular peer to peer relationships and incidence of bullying behaviors: Rationale: The Douglas school core values focus on Caring and Community. Within this community is a diverse student and adult population that interacts in complex ways. One of the first steps of this goal will be to collect important individual perceptual data regarding the positive and negative experiences of members of the community. This will provide the faculty with the information needed to address specific concerns and make educated decisions on programmatic implementation within the school.

Responsible Parties Principal and teachers volunteers will work as members of a committee to create, distribute and analyze survey data from students, teachers, and community members. Strategies

1. Design and distribute survey 2. Analyze and communicate data

Define Outcomes

1. A written summary of data analysis with focus areas for programmatic change.

1

Target Completion Date: Fall 2010 Assessment of Progress: The survey was an amazing success. The survey was available online to students, teachers and parents. Students took the survey at school and parents and teachers took the survey at work or at home. Student participation was excellent, as students took the survey in their classrooms or in computer lab. Of 343 families, 230 took the survey for a 67% participation rate. Of 28 classroom or specialist teachers, 20 took the survey for a 71% participation rate. Costs $20 – Survey Monkey Goal 2: Implement Program Change Goal Statement #1: An Assessment of school climate will provide information on bullying behaviors which will be addressed procedurally and programatically within the school: Rationale: Given the assumption that within a diverse community, conflict is inevitable, a community must decide how to handle such conflict. It is the intent of the Douglas community to be both proactive in teaching positive community building skills as well as clearly define procedures for responding to incidents of bullying behavior defined by Massachusetts General Laws as:

“The repeated use by one or more students of a written, verbal or electronic expression or a physical act or gesture or any combination thereof, directed at a victim that: (i) causes physical or emotional harm to the victim or damage to the victim’s property; (ii) places the victim in reasonable fear of harm to himself or of damage to his property; (iii) creates a hostile environment at school for the victim; (iv) infringes on the rights of the victim at school; or (v) materially and substantially disrupts the education process or the orderly operation of a school.”

Responsible Parties Principal and all teachers will work to develop procedures and identify or develop programs to address bullying within the school community. Strategies

1. Review survey data 2. Identify successful anti-bullying programs 3. Develop procedures regarding bullying behavior

Define Outcomes

1. Identified programs and procedures regarding bullying behavior.

Target Completion Date: June 2011 Costs = $2100 (curriculum and training)

2

Funding Source: Appropriated budget Assessment of Progress: The staff spent the year’s professional development meetings studying bullying behavior and effective methodologies. They re-wrote procedures and participated in feedback of the district bullying policy and procedures. They identified focus areas within the school such as building the response of “Bystanders.” The school also purchased curriculum and training from Me To We – an organization dedicated to building leadership skills and positive change among young people. Because Douglas already used Steps to Respect and Second Step ( established empathy and anti-bullying curriculum). The Staff decided to use an approach of building leadership capacity to address the remaining instances of hurtful behavior, as nationally this is seen as the most effective means of affecting change. Goal Two: Improve student assessment systems: The Douglas staff and School Council decided to postpone working on one additional one-year goal, Improve Student Assessment Systems. It became clear early in the year that this would be a district goal – focused on formative and summative assessment, so postponing to align with district goals seemed appropriate. The school did move forward with the purchase of K-3 reading assessments and implemented those as well as “Running Records” for all students in those grade levels.

3

Part Two: Goals for 2011-2012 The Douglas staff and School Council have two overarching goals scheduled for completion over one school year. These one-year goal are to Improve student assessment systems by identifying benchmarks and formative assessments & Improve methodologies for including challenging students in the regular education classroom. Our goal is tied to the already established system-wide goals of identifying benchmarks and tools to measure those benchmarks in all content areas and grade levels, as well as effectively meeting the teaching and learning needs of an increasingly diverse school community. Goal 1: Improve Student Assessment Systems Goal Statement #1: Assessment to Improve Student Learning Rationale: The Douglas school assessment system will be organized around the primary purpose of improving student learning. It should provide useful information about whether students have reached important learning goals (benchmarks) and provide information so that teachers can help students move forward. The assessments will be consistent with learning goals, curriculum, instruction, and current knowledge of how students learn.

Classroom assessment that is integrated with curriculum such as Everyday Math and Reading Street will be the primary means of assessment. Teachers will also assess student learning through structured and informal observations and interviews, projects, performances and exhibitions, audio and videotapes, experiments, portfolios, and journals. Assessment systems, including instruments, policies, practices and uses, will also be fair to all students. They will allow for multiple methods to assess student progress and for multiple but equivalent ways for students to express knowledge and understanding. The goal of all assessments will be to reflect a student's actual knowledge. These assessments are created or appropriately adapted and accommodations are made to meet the specific needs of particular populations, such as English language learners and students with disabilities.

Responsible Parties Principal, all grade level teachers and special educators will work as members of teams working to identify age appropriate, skills and concepts. Strategies

1. Collection of current and possible assessments 2. Identification of benchmarks 3. Analysis to match skills and assessments

4

Define Outcomes

1. A Douglas reference of assessments correlated to specific benchmarks. Target Completion Date June 2012 Assessment of Progress Costs $0 Goal Statement #2: Professional Collaboration and Development Rationale: Knowledgeable and fair educators are essential for high quality assessment. Assessment systems depend on educators who understand the full range of assessment purposes, use appropriately a variety of suitable methods, work collaboratively, and engage in ongoing professional development to improve their capability as assessors.

Douglas School teachers will identify and participate in professional development and work together to improve their assessment craft. They may engage in small groups of teachers scoring student work, or other untested practices to develop a school-wide knowledge of skills and assessments. Responsible Parties Principal, all grade level teachers and special educators will work as members of teams that work to organize and identify and participate in high quality professional development. Strategies

1. Collaborative, cross grade teams K – 6 review benchmarks, assessments and study student work. Teams will then develop guides that specifically address identified benchmarks and effective assessments that lend themselves to collaborative teacher work.

Define Outcomes

1. A Douglas guideline for effective assessments including purposes, collaborative practices and examples.

Target Completion Date June of 2012.

5

Assessment of Progress Usefulness of the assessment work will be evaluated based on comparison of assessments to identifying student skills. Anticipated Costs Built into district professional development program for 2012. Goal Statement #2: Improve methodologies for including challenging students in the regular education classroom. Rationale: Frequent visits to the principal’s office, detentions, suspensions, or moving to a SPED program at another school are the established tools of school discipline for kids who don’t abide by the school rules. This is common for kids who have a hard time getting along with other kids, don’t seem to respect authority, don’t seem interested in learning, and are disrupting the learning of their classmates. But there is a big problem with these strategies: They are ineffective for most of the students to whom they are applied.

Douglas School teachers, administration, and APS pupil services will work together to identify and build a new conceptual framework for understanding and responding to the difficulties of kids with behavioral challenges. Responsible Parties Principal, all grade level teachers and special educators will work as members of teams that work to organize and identify and participate in high quality professional development. Strategies

1. Collaborative, cross grade teams K – 6 review outcomes for these students as well as PD and support needed to help students reach these outcomes.

2. Teams will then develop guides, protocols and work with pupil services to establish levels of support to specifically address the success of students with behavioral difficulties (as well as the continued success of all students) within the regular education classroom.

Define Outcomes

6

2. A trained staff who has a significant number of documented strategies, procedures and supports for including and providing a successful experience for ALL students.

Target Completion Date June of 2012. Assessment of Progress Case studies of students within the school will provide a model for future students and teachers. We will also produce a list of strategies, procedures and supports. Anticipated Costs Built into district professional development program for 2012.

1

Food Service Department

Exciting changes!

Lunch Price Increase

Acton Public Schools $2.35

Acton-Boxborough Regional Schools tiered pricing starting at $2.10-$3.00

Equity in lunch pricing, section 205 of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (Public Law 111-296).

Point of Sale System

The information your child needs4 digit lunch ID# found in Powerschool

these numbers are pre-assigned to avoid duplication

Parents need to work with their child to memorize the number by Oct. 7th

Other Districts have success using 6 digits!

Payment for lunches

How can you pay?You can still pay by cash each day.You can still send in a check to the cafeteria manager to put a deposit on your child’s account.NO MORE TICKETS WILL BE ISSUEDNew Offering effective September 30th if you choose to create an account through Parent on Line: You can pay using Visa or Mastercard through a secure site. There is a $1.75 convenience fee for a deposit. You will receive an e-mail confirmation upon receipt of payment.

Payment/Charging Procedure

Parents should pre-pay for luncheswhether it is by the month, full year,or whatever you decide (or pay cash each day)We will allow a child to go in the negative by 2 lunches at the elementary and Junior High Schools. High School students must have cash or money on account. They will not be allowed to go in the negative.

FAQ’s

Can parents get an itemized list of purchases? On line you will see whether there is a lunch, milk or an a la carte purchase.

Can parents set a daily spending limit? No.However, purchases can be restricted by the days of the week for a la carte sales.

FAQ’s continued

If you choose to set up an account with “Parent on line” you will need your child’s student ID Number for each child as well as the school they attend. (The Student ID is your login number for your child in Powerschool ….not to be confused with the 4 digit lunch ID#)We are two school districts. If you have a child in Acton Public and A-B you will need to set up separate accounts by District. There is a handout available with FAQ’s for the Parent On Line, more information will be coming!

Mass Harvest to Schools Week

We are offering a fresh fruit and vegetable tasting next week in the cafeterias.

Annual Corn Husking with the studentsat the elementary schools.

Gluten Free Lunches

We are now offering gluten free lunches in all cafeterias.

See menu for details! Please notify the cafeteria manager of your school in advance for these items.

Kirsten NelsonFood Service Director

It is our pleasure to serve your children!

Acton Public School Committee Meeting September 15, 2011 7 ... · Math Curriculum Specialist/Coach...

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Transcript of Acton Public School Committee Meeting September 15, 2011 7 ... · Math Curriculum Specialist/Coach...